Alex Dunn

Alex Dunn reached out to me on tinyboatsession through instagram.  He started his intro saying he went to the University of Puget Sound and was a ‘reformed Alaska fisherman.’  I love it when anyone reaches out to me on tinyboatsession, but I got a soft spot for folks that also went to Puget Sound.  I'm still very close friends with a lot of folks I went to school with there, and I would say that there is something special about that place.  Folks that I meet from there, even if they graduated well before me or after me seem to have a good vibe to share.  Alex and I would have crossed over briefly and we had apparently met before.  I’d also spent one year as an Alaska fisherman.  I felt we would have a lot to talk about.   It took several months before our schedules finally synced up but we were persistent and made the row happen.  I appreciate someone with patience.

He came out on a warm day in May.  The light was great.  The lake was calm and even the traffic was quiet.  It turned out we had revolved in a few other worlds.  He knew some folks from Filson that I worked with and was actually now living in New Mexico, the state that I grew up in.  If he started as a fisherman, he's looking like a cowboy now.  I know a lot of folks like that and there is more overlap to the sea and desert than you might think.

We rowed around the lake, finding some fun backgrounds of hard working ships.  I took him to a spot that I think has a glimpse of old Seattle and he strummed to a goose sitting on a piling.  He sang a song about the fishing boat in Alaska.  It sank. I had a boat that capsized.   We chatted a lot about worlds overlapping.  

It was an excellent afternoon that reinforced everything I felt about meeting a fellow schoolmate.   He invited me to come hear him sing at the Tractor Tavern that next day.  I enjoyed having the juxtaposition of boat and stage.  On my way home I passed Conor Byrn and ran into another artist who had done tinyboatsession, Ollella, also a Puget Sound alum.  Small worlds out here in the Pacific Northwest.  Instagram: @Alexdunndeal